Arjan van Woensel

Okay, let’s not even try to pronounce that name of mine and just call me RJ. I’m originally from Amsterdam. But even more originally from Rotterdam, the port city in Holland where shirts in fashion stores are sold with the sleeves already rolled up. That same hands-on, no-nonsense approach still resonates in my way of working.

I was on the path to becoming a computer super-nerd before I switched directions and majored in advertising. After working and winning awards at Ogilvy, TBWA and LOWE in Amsterdam I started my own agency together with two partners. A name change to Doom & Dickson, some good old-fashioned hard work and an award-winning advertising campaign for our agency soon got us up there with the big guys, and the agency is now part of the global TBWA network.

I believe in advertising that’s used in all its offensive glory, not as a defensive approach to keep business. That’s why to get the best out of me you might try to bring me in at the early strategic stages of the communication to be solved. But I can easily switch roles to please my detail fetish – just give me the chance to dive deep into my font library looking for that special comma. 

When it comes to my interests, think of me as a carnivorous sponge. Currently I’m working on a photography series of iconic NZ sheds. And then there’s my online business Kulitzer.com and my magazine, Contrabute, due to be published soon. I’m all about bringing down the walls between advertising, design, events, digital… the most interesting things happen when ideas cross boundaries.